Hot Summer Brings Crowds, Crypto

Labor Day has come and gone and that means your seasonal
pools are all probably shuttered for the winter. By now,
summer 2010 is becoming a memory. While some operators are
looking back fondly, recalling hot weather and crowds,
crypto outbreaks and drownings have perhaps left
others happy to forget last July and August.

Record-breaking heat did rule the day in many parts of
the country, and a number of operators reported larger
crowds and increased participation in programs.

There is nothing like a hot summer to help the pool
industry,” said Tom Lachocki. Ph.D., CEO of the
National Swimming Pool Foundation, headquartered in
Colorado Springs, Colo. “Over the Labor Day
weekend, I went with friends to Glenwood Springs, Colo.,
natural hot springs/pool. It was very busy with people
paying $17 plus to get in. There was a line to get in when
we got there and people were waiting to pay to get in three
hours later when we were leaving. I suspect this
year’s hot weather helped some organizations
survive and others even prosper.”

Additional swim lessons were added at the Westover pool
in Harrisonburg, Va. In Baltimore, Md., temperatures were
so oppressive that Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake extended
pool hours during a late July heat wave. Crowds cooled off
at pools in Arlington, Texas, and the Columbus, Ohio, area
as well.

“Our daily attendance increased by 15 percent
from 2009,” said John Gloyd, Columbus’
aquatics director. He adds that while the weather did
contribute to the increase and temperatures prompted the
mayor to extend the pool season by one week, the fact that
daily fees were eliminated last year — because of
the closure (temporarily) of six community pools —
was also likely a factor.

The hot weather meant business was also good at a number
of waterparks. Aquatica, Seaworld’s Waterpark, in
Orlando, Fla., was forced to shut down for more than two
hours when it reached capacity crowds before 1 p.m.
Additionally, it was a record-breaking season at the new
waterpark at the Sports Com recreation facility in
Murfreesboro, Tenn.

“For the most part, what we’ve heard
from members is that the 2010 season has been a solid
success for them,” said Aleatha Ezra, World
Waterpark Association director of park member development.
“For many, it has been a bounce-back year for
attendance since the weather has been much more conducive
for waterparks across most geographical regions with the
U.S. and beyond.”

The patrons came this summer, but so did the
cryptosporidium. Crypto was reported at
recreational water venues in Illinois, Wisconsin, South
Carolina, and Missouri and Utah. According to reports, by
late June the Salt Lake Valley Health Department documented
more than 20 confirmed cases, equal to numbers in 2007 when
the state reported the largest crypto outbreak on
record, connected to recreational water venues.

An outbreak linked to a municipal pool in Belleville
sickened at least 10 individuals. according to Melaney
Arnold, spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Public
Health. The final investigation is not yet completed, but
the pool was shut down and the DOH requested that all
public pools in three surrounding counties be
hyperchlorinated.

“We do normally see an outbreak or two across
the state but this one was unexpected,” said
Arnold.

Drownings were another reality in 2010. According to the
Consumer Product Safety Commission, on average, more than
200 children younger than 15 drown in pools or spas between
Memorial Day and Labor Day. “The 2010 Pool Safely
Summer Snapshot on Pool Safety in the United
States” released in early September indicates that
at least 172 children younger than 15 have drowned since
Memorial Day weekend and there were 180 nonfatal incidents.
The data is according to media reports collected
nationwide.

“The year 2010 marks a time when government has
funded millions of dollars to build awareness about
drowning and suction entrapment prevention … The
better we in this industry engage to prevent the bad and
tout the good, the better society — and our
industry — will prosper,” said
Lachocki.